JMRF 2011 Grantees
The Japan Multicultural Relief Fund delivered the relief grant to the seven grassroots
organizations that work with “marginalized” communities in the disaster-struck region, including
foreign residents, migrant workers, single parent households, people with disabilities and elders
in May 2011. The following is a detailed report on how the fund was used in the respective
community in the process of recovery and reconstruction.

Grant Period: March 14, 2011 - March 15, 2012
Total Grant: $44,435.34* ¥500,000 (appx. $6,348) to each organization

1.

Community Life Support Center’s “Tohoku Kanto Earthquake Support Network”

Dispatching Medical Volunteers and Aid Materials for Senior Citizens and People With
Disabilities
Since March 2011, Community Life Support Center has dispatched volunteer care workers andnurses to shelters, medical facilities, senior institutions, and disability welfare facilities located in
the coastal areas of Miyagi Prefecture, as well as delivered aid materials to those who are taking
shelter at home due to lack of mobility. The ¥500,000 grant was spent on transporting volunteers
and delivering aid materials.
Project 1:
Transporting volunteers (1,728 volunteers registered) to Miyagi (29 locations in 11 cities andtowns), Fukushima (1 location in 1 city), and Tochigi (2 locations in 2 cities) Prefectures.
Project 2:
Aid material deliveries to shelters, welfare facilities, temporary houses, and at-home evacuees in9 cities and towns in Miyagi Prefecture and Minamisoma-city in Fukushima Prefecture (3 to 5times a week from March until August 2011, once a week from September until December 2011;
approximately 10,000 households)

2.
Hotline “Chamae”/Trans-Pacific Research and Action Institute for the Hisabetsu
Nikkei (TRAI)
Assessment on Damage, Loss and Conditions of the non-ethnic Japanese Survivors andPlanning/Preparing for the Multi-lingual/cultural Hotline ServiceThe ¥500,000 grant was used to investigate the damage and loss experienced by the non-ethnic
Japanese residents in the disaster struck regions in Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaraki and Iwate
Prefectures. The grant was also used to assess current economic, physical and psychologicalconditions of the non-ethnic Japanese survivors, such as Koreans, Chinese, Filipina/os and Thaipeople by researchers and counselors.
Project 1:
Investigating the damage and loss experienced by the non-ethnic Japanese residents
Project 2:
Planning and preparing for the multi-lingual/cultural hotline service for the non-ethnic Japanesesurvivors

3.

Network Orange

Assisting People with Disabilities
In Kesennuma-city, Miyagi Prefecture, Network Orange has been coordinating various
empowerment programs for the people with disabilities from rehabilitation and farming toemployment, in hopes that people with disabilities and people without disabilities can coexist
meaningfully in one community. However, the earthquake and tsunami destroyed the mainoffice. With the ¥500,000 grant, Network Orange was able to rent a temporary office to provide
people with disabilities with water, food and other life necessities, as well as advertise theirprograms and re-establish internet connection. In order to better facilitate the recovery process,Network Orange and other groups in Kesennuma-city started a network called, “Kesennuma
Mirai Sozo-jyuku” (“Kessennuma Club to Create Future”).
Project 1:
Opening the temporary office to operate the support programs for people with disabilities inKessennuma-cityProject 2:Advertising the routinized distribution of food and supplies to the survivors (12 times from June
2011 to February 2012)
Project 3:
Web outreach for “Kesennuma Mirai Sozo-jyuku” (“Kessennuma Club to Create Future”)

4.

NPO Woori Hakkyo

Support in Reopening Korean Schools
NPO Woori Hakkyo purchased various schools supplies to reopen Tohoku Korean Elementaryand Middle School. It has also been assisting radioactive decontamination at Fukushima Korean
Elementary and Middle School for 5 times since July 24, 2011. The ¥500,000 grant was used topurchase 3 personal computers for Tohoku Korean Elementary and Middle school andradioactive decontamination tools and geiger counters for Fukushima Korean Elementary andMiddle Schools.
Project 1:
Purchasing school supplies at Tohoku Korean Elementary and Middle School
Project 2:
Radioactivity decontamination at Fukushima Korean Elementary and Middle Schools

5.

Single Mother Forum Fukushima

Providing Informational Support, Radiation Measurement, and Securing a Temporary
Shelter for Single Mother Households
In Fukushima and the greater Tohoku area, Single Mother Forum Fukushima has been
conducting research and providing information for single mother households, creating spaces foreducation and socializing, and making policy recommendations. In response to the Tohoku
earthquakes and nuclear disaster, they surveyed and gave advice to those who are taking shelter,
supported the survivors of domestic violence, and offered a temporary shelter program forchildren to avoid internal exposure to radiation. The ¥500,000 grant was used for hotline
service, house-visits for the survivors, purchase of geiger counters for measuring radiation, andthe accommodation of 27 children at a temporary shelter.

Project 1:
Hotline service, individual house-visits for women survivors, and radiation measurement;
Provided hotline service for survivor women on radiation concerns (twice a week, from 10am to3pm) between June 2011 and September 2011; and Visited 25 households to measure the local
radiation levels
Project 2:
Securing a shelter for 27 children from households that were unable to evacuate in order to avoid
internal radiation exposure

6.

Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ)

Creating Network with and Investigating Foreign Residents and Immigrant Communities/
Distribution of Food in the Devastated Area
In Minamsanriku-town, Miyagi Prefecture, relief supplies for 300 people were conveyed andfood has been distributed to communities affected by the disaster. Also, food was given to theelders and ethnic minorities living at evacuation centers and temporary housings 23 times (150 to250 meals each times). In addition, meetings were held with 30 Filipinas, 50 Chinese TechnicalIntern Trainees and other ethnic minority residents to discuss the situation they were in. SMJ
also helped connecting the network of nationwide Filipino Communities. The ¥500,000 grant
was used for gasoline and food supplies for these activities.
Project 1:
Transportation of relief supplies to Minamisanriku-town
Project 2:
Conveying food to Minamisanriku town
Project 3:
Collecting information on minority communities and having meetings to connect with different
communities

7.

Zainichi no Ianfu Saiban wo Sasaeru Kai

Supporting Ms. SONG, Shindo, a Survivor of Sexual Slavery by the Japanese Military
From April, 2011 to February, 2012, the group supported Ms. SONG, Shindo (88 years old) inTokyo after she suffered from the earthquake in Miyagi Prefecture. Ms. Song is the only Korean
woman in Japan who bravely stood up to and sued the Japanese government for the seven year
long sexual enslavement by the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII, and she had lived in
Miyagi after the war. The ¥500,000 grant was used for food, medical treatment, and otherthings, as well as for transportation and daily allowance for a caretaker.
Project 1:
Preparation for meals, shopping, water, power and electricity bills; arranging incoming mails;
correspondence with the welfare service; and attending Ms. Song at the hospital